Center-to-edge sharpness is superb, with excellent control of distortion and aberration.

Advanced optical system minimizes coma even at maximum aperture

fotojevOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 13, 2010Location: NetherlandsPosts: 32

Review Date: Nov 13, 2011

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Light weight, very compact, fast, good IQ.

Cons:

Rotation of grip at AF, no weather sealing, not so good hood.

This lens I use a lot. The reach on FF is very nice for indoor photography. But also outside it is very usable. This length is difficult to master. Everything at close is overly large.

The premium of this lens is it's compactness and speed. I had the 14-24mm first and that lens is way to heavy for me and very vulnerable.

The lens hood comes loose too quickly and can ruin the image. Also the hood is narrow and therefor the lens front is exposed. I use a filter all the time.

In the longer term I may replace it with something else but I would not know what. Maybe the 16-35mm but that is such a big lens. For now I use it and use it frequently with pleasure!

Nov 13, 2011

thedruidOfflineImage Upload: On

Registered: Dec 1, 2004Location: United StatesPosts: 1648

Review Date: Dec 27, 2010

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $645.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Size, performance, weight.

Cons:

Price even used is high unless you get a private sale

Bought this lens as a lightweight alternative to my 17-35 AFS....you can literally put this one in your coat pocket and along with a D700/24-10VR have a nice lightweight FX travel kit. So far I've been impressed, after reading a lot of bad reviews I've been pleasantly surprised by the image quality I'm getting form this lens. I use it under demanding conditions at dusk in city where flare is a big issue normally.

Dec 27, 2010

ISO1600OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 6, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 5097

Review Date: Jul 24, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Size, AF Speed, max ap. of 2.8, performance.

Cons:

Cost (retail price), can be difficult to find used, the hood (HB-18) is extremely difficult to find.

My first Nikkor 18mm was the (great) f3.5 AIS... i loved it, but wanted more speed... I eventually found one of these (2.8 AF-D) for sale from a buddy for $200, bought it and never looked back.
This is the only 18mm f2.8 AF prime out there (right?), and it fills that void nicely. The size is just right, the focus is super fast, i like that it's a 2.8, and the glass is just great. I liked it so much i got a second copy recently for $325....

Yes, i have two copies for a total of $525. If you look around, you can find them for cheap sometimes- but it is worth the wait.

Jul 24, 2009

PhotoproXOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 6, 2007Location: AlbaniaPosts: 0

Review Date: Sep 21, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Cons:

The list price of this lens is crazy but you can get it used for far less and its worth it. I do see spherical aberration on my digital bodies which is corrected easily (one click) in Nikon Capture. Other than that, this lens is very sharp from f2.8 and gets perfect stopped down.

A Nikon classic for me!

Sep 21, 2007

rehnniarOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 22, 2004Location: GermanyPosts: 30

Review Date: Oct 23, 2005

Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 6

Pros:

sharp and contrasty, but not more than the older 20/3,5 manual lense.

Cons:

expensive. although nikon claims it for architectural use, it has way toomuch moustache distortion, of the form which is not to remove good enough with any tool in the market. at least no lense for architecture, as the other ultrawides from nikon also.

Oct 23, 2005

mpalOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 14, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 4

Review Date: Oct 9, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

The lens is much improved from the early manual focus 18mm F/4 and 18mm F/3.5 versions. As a lens for the Nikon DSLR, it performs very effectively as a 27mm wide angle lens (35mm basis).
Contrast and color is better than most zooms that cover this range.
Sharp, with good glare control.
Good at F/2.8, too.